Estimate how much fill material to bring in and place. Handles sub-base, backfill, and grading lifts. Use the Excavation Calculator if you are removing material from a dig site.
How this calculator works
Volume is length × width × depth, with wastage and a compaction factor stacked on top.
cubic_feet = length × width × depth × (1 + wastage%) × (1 + compaction%)cubic_yards = cubic_feet ÷ 27
- Aggregate suppliers price by the cubic yard or by the ton; ask which.
- Soil expands when excavated and shrinks when compacted — set the compaction factor to match the haul or fill condition.
Common questions
How is fill priced — cubic yards or tons?
Both, depending on the supplier and material. Granular A is often priced per ton, topsoil per cubic yard. Always ask before ordering, and confirm whether delivery is included.
When should I use the compaction factor?
When you're bringing in fill that will be compacted in place. A positive compaction factor (e.g., +20%) means you need to order more loose material to end up with the target compacted volume.
Can I use this for crushed stone, gravel, or sand?
Yes — the volume math is identical. Use the supplier's recommended compaction factor for that material; gravel typically settles 10–15%, sand a bit less.
Fill is bought by the cubic yard but compacts in place at a rate that depends on the material. Order short and the truck pulls away with the box half empty and you pay for a haul-back; order long and you have a pile on the lawn for a week, plus the cost of disposing of what didn’t go in. This calculator returns both the placed volume — the dimensions you measured — and the loose-state volume you actually order, accounting for the compaction the material loses on the way to its final position.
What you give it, what it gives back
Enter length, width, and depth of the area being filled, choose your material (limestone screening, granular A, topsoil, sand), and tune the compaction percentage. The calculator returns placed volume in cubic yards, the loose-state order volume, ton equivalents at typical material density, and an estimated cost if you supply a per-yard or per-ton rate.
A sample lift
Say you’re laying a 20 ft × 30 ft, 6 inch lift of granular A under a paving project. Placed volume is straight geometry:
Granular A typically loses 18-22% to compaction. At 20% you order:
A 14 yd³ tandem covers it on one trip. At $35 per yard delivered, the supplier’s quote should land near $470 plus haul. Most suppliers price the partial yard at the full-yard rate, so rounding up to 14 changes nothing on the bill but covers an unexpected low spot.
Compaction by material
Limestone screening compacts about 15-20%; clean topsoil 10-15%; granular A 18-22%; sand 8-12%. The default 15% is a sensible blended-fill number. If you’re filling against a structural element — under a slab, against a foundation, in a retaining-wall footing — bump compaction to 25% and pay attention to lift depth (most specs call for 6 inch lifts compacted in place rather than one big dump).
Where this isn’t enough
This is a rectangular-prism, single-material calculator. It handles backfill, sub-base, lawn levelling, and small landscape grading well. It is not the right tool for irregular swales, multi-material lifts (where geotextile separates the layers), or anywhere a soil report drives the spec. For those, calculate each layer separately or hand the takeoff to your contractor.
One cubic yard equals 27 cubic feet (≈ 0.76 cubic metres). Granular A weighs about 2,800 lb/yd³, topsoil 2,200 lb/yd³, screenings 2,500 lb/yd³ — useful when the supplier prices by ton instead of yard. Haul, unloading help, and disposal of what doesn’t go in are not in the calculator.
If you’re scoping fill against a structural element, in a flood-prone area, or anywhere a permit reviewer will look at compaction reports, a sit-down with a contractor who can write the lift schedule is usually cheaper than redoing the work.
Other calculators on this site
If you’re scoping a whole project, you’ll usually need more than one of these. They share the same approach — plain math, honest about edge cases, with the practical notes someone who has done the work would actually need.
- Asphalt Calculator. Tonnage for a driveway, parking patch, or walkway pour, including the depth-to-tonnage curve a supplier will quote against.
- Concrete Pour Calculator. Cubic yards of concrete for a slab, footing, or post hole, plus the waste factor most pours actually need.
- Drywall Calculator. Sheets of drywall and bundles of mud for a renovation room, plus the cut and waste allowance.
- Excavation Calculator. Cubic yards of dirt to remove for a basement, pool, or footing — including the bulking factor that surprises first-timers.
- Fence Calculator. Lineal feet of fence, post count, rails, and gates for a property line that is rarely perfectly straight.
- Lumber Calculator. Board feet for a deck, frame, or addition, in the rough framing pattern a supplier will price against.
- Paint Calculator. Gallons of paint for a room, plus the coverage difference between primed and unprimed surfaces.
- Tile Calculator. Square footage of tile for a floor or wall, plus the breakage and cut waste a real installation needs.
